'LDS,' 'Mormon' Terms Discouraged By Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Thursday changes to style guidelines regarding their name. President Russell M. Nelson said this was an effort to restore and use the full name of the church instead of abbreviations or nicknames.

"The Lord has impressed upon my mind the importance of the name He has revealed for His Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have work before us to bring ourselves in harmony with his will. In recent weeks, various Church leaders and departments have initiated the necessary steps to do so,” Nelson said in a statement, and added more information will be made available in coming months.

According to the new guidelines, the full name of the church — "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” would be preferred during the first reference. In case of shortened reference, the terms "the Church" or the "Church of Jesus Christ" were encouraged.

The organization discouraged the use of the nickname "Mormon Church" and said it was no more an authorized title. The church also requested to avoid using the abbreviation "LDS" or the nickname "Mormon.”

The terms "members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" or "Latter-day Saints" are preferred while referring to church members while the term "Mormons" should not be used. The term "Mormonism" was also deemed inaccurate by the church.

“When describing the combination of doctrine, culture and lifestyle unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term "the restored gospel of Jesus Christ" is accurate and preferred,” the guideline said.

According to the guidelines, “When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not affiliated with polygamous groups.”

For the past few years, the church used the word "Mormon” in their official website and media channel. It also started a campaign called “I'm a Mormon," where members of the church were required to say or write "and I'm a Mormon” after sharing a video or a written statement.

The church refused to comment on specifics and said, "See the updated Newsroom style guide, which provides direction on how to properly refer to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the coming months, Church websites and materials will be updated to reflect this direction from President Nelson."

Sheri Dew, chief content officer of Deseret Management Corporation, said she heard Nelson “refer briefly to the name of the church” in a sacrament meeting Sunday.

"He said we need to restore and use the full name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that we would be hearing more about it. Here we are four days later, and we’re hearing more about it,” Dew said in a KSL NewsRadio interview Thursday.

"This appears to be a more seismic shift than just a reinforcement of a former policy. It seems that the president of the church is saying that, surely, if we expect anyone else to get the name of the church right, we better start by getting the name of the church right ourselves, and one major problem with every nickname we have all used and fallen into is that they cut out the name of Jesus Christ,” she added, Deseret news reported.

However, according to Patrick Mason, the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University, the term “Mormon” carries a lot of negative connotation, which could be one of the reasons for the change.

“Mormon is even a more fraught term internationally than domestically. Maybe this is yet another part of President Nelson’s administration keeping an eye on the global church even if it causes a little discomfort or anxiety within the U.S. church,” he said.

The church was founded in New York on April 6, 1830, by Joseph Smith.